Spilled

Part 16

Anthony:

We walked the streets of downtown New York, no, not New York city, but the little town Megan lived in outside of New York City, where the downtown was way less crowded and more downtown-y than thousands-of-people-and-buildings-y. I liked it better this way, because, quite frankly, I didn't like people. Crowds, little kids, just people, were a no for me.

So, I was really glad when after about ten minutes of completely silent and awkward walking to what felt like nowhere, Ian stopped in front of a small coffee shop looking thing. 

"This place is pretty good," he suggested, shrugging.

"Alright."

So, we walked in, and it was actually a pretty nice place. The typical little coffee shop, like a smaller, non-franchise version of Starbucks. Except, there wasn't a counter or anything like at Starbucks. Like, you actually got waited on. So, like a mix of a shop and a restaurant.

Ian sat down at a small table towards the back, next to the window. I took a seat across from him, and before I even sat down, a waitress was already asking for drink orders. From the looks of it, they didn't get a whole lot of business here, and she was just probably ecstatic to have a customer.

I ordered a coffee because I literally felt like I could fall asleep right then and there, and Ian got a diet Pepsi, his favorite.

He looked up at me, and I didn't know what to say. What was I supposed to say? Obviously, "I love you, I miss you, I never want you to leave me again." But, at the moment, I was at a total loss.

I looked out the window, at the lights the buildings around us were starting to turn on because it was starting to get dark, and could feel the humdity in the air.

"It, uh, it looks like it's gonna rain," he noted.

I looked over at him, and his gorgeous, one-of-a-kind blue eyes gazed out beyond the glass, up towards the sky. I found myself staring, because I just couldn't look away, and then he looked back, and I still couldn't look away.

"Uh, yeah, it does," I agreed awkwardly, looking down at my arms folded across the table.

"Anthony." 

I looked back up and Ian was biting his lip nervously, staring straight at me. "How the hell did you find me?"

I shrugged a little. "Your mouthguard. You took it. Your sister is the only person who makes you wear it."

He looked at me in disbelief and laughed a little. "Are you joking?"

I shook my head and smiled just a little. "Nope. I guess you can just call me the master detective."

He smiled. "Okay, Master Detective Anthony, then answer this: why did you come all the way here?"

My smile faded as I stared into his eyes, and I was just opening my mouth to speak when the waitress set a cup of coffee right in front of me. It was the perfect movie scene; you're just about to say the three little words and then, of course, something comes along to ruin it.

I took a sip of the coffee, and I have to say, Ian was right. It was pretty good.

I took a deep breath. "Of course I came. How could I live with myself at home, knowing you were thousands of miles away?"

He shrugged. "I'm just so stupid. I don't even know why I left. I'm just too much of a coward to face my problems, so I run away from them."

I stared at him for a while, and then sighed. 

"We should go somewhere else. Somewhere we can talk."